All’s Fair in Love and Zombies
by M Elizabeth Penn
Summary: A story of blooming love in a time of plants and zombies.


" ** _Dang_ IT**! Stop eating my sunflowers!!!"

Bucky didn't know there was going to be anyone around this time of night. He had wandered into the common areas in the early hours of the morning, having finally gotten back from a reconnaissance mission with Steve somewhere around midnight.Having stripped out of his tac gear and showered, his stomach had made its needs known, so he pulled on a loose pair of sweatpants and a white under shirt and headed for the common area kitchen. He loved Steve, but after 48 hours of not being able to get away, he needed to be elsewhere than their apartments.

But as he approached the kitchen and attached lounging area, he realised the area was already occupied by someone on one of the couches, their back to the door. He almost decided to go elsewhere to rustle up some grub, but curiosity got the best of him, especially with the loud exclamation in a feminine voice, paired with chomping sounds, the sound of artillery and explosions, and several guttural voices moaning, "Braaaains..."

He silently crept forward, until he was standing just behind the couch, and he could see over the shoulder of the girl sitting there. She was sitting cross-legged, her tablet in her lap and her fingers rapidly dancing across the screen, and the scene on the screen was incredibly mystifying.

There was an expanse of grass, divided into a checker-board of sorts, with a house on one end, and a sidewalk on the other. There was a series of plants at one end, sunflowers and cabbage, and other plants he couldn't quite identify, shooting plant matter at a series of zombies on the opposite edge of the screen. As he watched, a cabbage catapult launched a head of cabbage at an approaching zombie with only one arm, and promptly popped its head off. He tilted his head to the side, watching as the assault continued, with the girl tapping on the screen occasionally, adding plants here and there. Some of the zombies were run of the mill, in a suit and tie, and others had bright orange traffic cones or silver buckets on their heads. " _What?_ " slipped out of his mouth at the odd scene.

"SWEET baby Jesus and the three wise men!" the woman exclaimed, the tablet flying off her lap and mercifully landing face down at the other end of the couch, as she jumped about a foot in the air, twisting sideways to face him over the back of the couch. She was breathing quickly, a hand clapped over her heart as she glared at him. "All you super spies really need to wear a bell for those of us without enhanced hearing. JEEZ. Warn a girl!"

A corner of his mouth twitched upwards as he squashed the inclination to chuckle. "Sorry, doll. Habit," he said lowly, running his flesh hand through his hair to pull the shorter pieces in the front away from his face. He saw her eyes follow the motion, her eyes lingering on his arm before tracing across the rest of his torso. His grin widened a bit when her eyes flicked back to his, saw him watching her, and she turned faintly pink.

The tension was broken by a short burst of ominous music coming from the upended tablet and a man's voice screaming, "Noooooooooooo!" He leaned over the back of the couch and picked it up, turning it over to look at the screen. There were oozing green letters declaring, **The Zombies Ate Your Brains!** His brow furrowed a bit before glancing up at her. "What the..." She had a sheepish look on her face as she reached out to take the tablet from him.

"Plants versus Zombies. I'm sort of addicted." She shrugged at him, as he circumvented the couch and came to sit next to her. She tucked her legs under once again and tilted the tablet towards him. "It's a game where you need to protect your house against hordes of zombies using only plants to destroy each individual zombie. Some zombies are stronger than others, and so are the plants, so you have to plan accordingly..."

She began to take him through the game, showing him the Almanac that described each zombie and plant, and even let him play a few levels himself to get a feel for it. He could easily see how one could get addicted to the game. He was a bit distracted, though, stealing glances at the dame currently introducing him to the ins and outs of battling zombies with plants.

He thought she was beautiful, with full red lips and tousled dark curls pulled into a messy ponytail at the top of her head. She was dressed in an old baggy Stark Industries T-shirt and a pair of oversized fleece pajama pants that did very little to hide a set of generous curves. He found himself wondering what a woman like her was doing here with the Avengers and Company. He thought he would really enjoy spending some time with her to find out.

*

Steve was returning to his apartment late on a Saturday morning, when he heard Bucky vehemently swearing a blue streak next door. He cautiously ventured closer to the door, listening carefully. A fresh string of swear words made him jump a bit, and he rapped against the door with a knuckle.

"Bucky? Everything alright in there?" He sort of wished he had his shield with him, in case there were serious problems, but it was too late to go get it from his apartment, as he heard footsteps approaching the door. As it was, he braced himself slightly as he heard the locks disengage.

The door swung inward, and Bucky appeared, hair slightly dishevelled, but otherwise looking none the worse for wear. "Hiya, punk," he threw out, and Steve felt something tense release. Bucky seemed to be himself, so this wasn't a flashback thing.

"Hey, jerk. What's got you all up in arms this morning? I could hear the swearing all the way from the elevator," Steve shot back with a grin. He was puzzled to see Bucky turn a bit red and swipe a hand through his hair. A groan of "Braaaaaaains..." pulled his attention from his friend and down to the tablet he had failed to notice in his other hand. Bucky saw where his attention had gone, and quickly pulled the tablet up and tapped here and there a couple times, and the sound effects ceased. He looked back up at Steve with a rather sheepish expression.

"Yeah, so a... um... friend introduced me to this game a little while back... You ever heard of Plants versus Zombies?"


End file.
